Do You Give Your Customers the Personalization They Crave?

Companies would love to personalize their customer service and make each and every customer of theirs feel special. However, what stops them is the time and effort required to make this happen. It is so much easier to use templates for writing an email and have an IVR direct customers when they call a contact center. Personalization does not happen easily, up-to-date and accurate data is required.

Often, we confuse customization with personalization. There is a lot more to personalization than just addressing the customer by his name in a letter or mail; if you are going to follow the initial salutation with a generic letter then its an example of basic customization and not personalization. You personalize your communication when you make the customer feel that he is truly valued. This can happen when you have relevant data on your customer regarding his needs and preferences. When you have the right data, you are in a position to market your product and services in a much more subtle manner. You don’t hard sell, you recommend. Your ROI on a personalized marketing campaign is going to be much greater than when you cast a wide net and put your faith in God. You can make the right offers at the right time to the right persons.

Customers value personalization for several reasons. Personalization of customer care entails a one-to-one communication between you and your customer. In businesses where there is vast heterogeneity in customer requirements, this is a strong assurance to the customer that his needs are being considered seriously. It’s the same if it is an existing customer with a grouse. Having a real person communicate with a dissatisfied customer leads to amicable resolutions. Customers reward personalized attention with loyalty and repeat business thereby saving you the cost of hooking up new customers all the time.

The key, as mentioned earlier is data. For you to be able to tailor your service to your customer’s needs you should have information at your disposal. Personalization of service is particularly desirable if you are a retailer. If you know about your customer’s habits and preferences you serve him with greater efficiency and save time all around. It is important to keep in mind that in our quest for the all-important customer data we do not transgress on the customer’s privacy.

To conclude, personalizing your customer service takes it to the next level. Remember, that context is the key. Say and do the right thing at the right time in front of the right person. That, in a nutshell is personalized customer care